Noteworthy

Updated 12:21 am, Monday, September 19, 2016

Photo: Koji Sasahara

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Christina McHale of the United States smiles with a trophy during the award ceremony of the Japan Women's Open tennis in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. McHale rallied to beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) ORG XMIT: KSX101 less

Christina McHale of the United States smiles with a trophy during the award ceremony of the Japan Women's Open tennis in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. McHale rallied to beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech ... more

Photo: Koji Sasahara

Noteworthy

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

McHale gets first title with Japan Open win

TOKYO — Christina McHale of the United States rallied to beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the Japan Open and claim her first WTA singles title.

Seventh-seeded McHale broke her opponent seven times, including in the final game to secure the win at Ariake Colloseum.

Siniakova, also bidding for her first singles title, got off to a promising start by winning the first set but couldn't hold a 4-2 lead in the second when McHale fought back with two breaks.

Sunday's match was the second career singles final for the 24-year-old McHale. She lost to Dominika Cibulkova in Acapulco in 2014.

More tennis:Marin Cilicswatted aside Frenchman Richard Gasquet in straight sets to send host Croatia into the Davis Cup final for only the second time. The 2014 U.S. Open champion won 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to give Croatia an unassailable 3-1 lead with one singles match left to play. Croatia lost that one but it made no difference. Croatia won its only final 11 years ago on the road against Slovakia and will play host to Argentina in the final Nov. 25-27.

College football: Louisville surged to No. 3 in The Associated Press poll, matching the best ranking in school history, and Ohio State moved up to No. 2 behind Alabama. The Crimson Tide received 50 first-place votes after rallying past Mississippi.